Savaş Çağlak

This study develops and validates a GIS-based, spatio-temporal model to identify and prioritize road segments with high icing susceptibility in the Gümüşhane city center, Türkiye. Icing on urban roadways constitutes a significant threat to vehicular and pedestrian safety, particularly in regions characterized by complex topography and dense urban morphology. A Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) framework, employing the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) with structured expert input, was used to synthesize ten primary causative factors. These include solar radiation, temperature, aspect, object height, precipitation, elevation, pavement material, slope, albedo, and road width — each representing a distinct topographic, climatic, or morphological influence on urban road icing. The AHP quantitatively established the relative influence of these factors, identifying solar radiation (28.5%), temperature (18.2%), and aspect (13.5%) as the most dominant drivers. The model generates monthly susceptibility maps that reveal "urban canyons"—narrow streets flanked by high-rise buildings—consistently exhibit the highest and most persistent susceptibility due to severely limited solar radiation. The accuracy of the model's spatial predictions was quantitatively validated through field observations, with 91.4% of recurring icing locations correctly identified within high or very high susceptibility zones. This research culminates not only in a robust scientific framework but also in a validated decision-support tool that has been successfully integrated into the Gümüşhane City Information System (GCIS), where it is now operationally used to optimize winter maintenance strategies. Ultimately, this work provides a replicable, data-driven approach for enhancing urban resilience and traffic safety in challenging topographical settings.

Human bioclimatic comfort (HBC) is an important subject of climatology in the field of physical geography. Human bioclimatic comfort (HBC) is the feeling of satisfied and comfortable within the ambient atmospheric thermal environment. Earth climate system has been exposed to changes from the beginning, but since 19^th century human – induced factors have contributed to these changes. HBC is the combined effect of atmospheric conditions and affected by all the changes in them. Turkey is among the countries in Mediterranean region, expected to develop higher vulnerabilities to the (bio) climate hazards. Therefore, a Mediterranean city in the south of the country, Adana, was chosen as the study area. HBC assessment was made for the past (1961 – 1990), present (1991 – 2022), near (2030 – 2060) and distant future (2070 – 2100) using hourly - data from the official meteorology station between 1961 and 2022, daily data of the climate model scenarios (Representative Concentration Pathway - RCP4.5 and RCP8.5) and Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) index, the Rayman model and Geographic Information Systems in the spatial distribution of HBC conditions. The analysis showed that the prevalence of "cold" and "cool" stresses has decreased while that of "hot" and "very hot" stresses has increased from the past to the present in Adana. It is predicted that present conditions will continue in the near and distant future, all comfort ranges will increase to the following warm range and the ideal period for HBC conditions will be the winter season. In order to reduce the adverse HBC conditions in cities due to climate change by creating climate resilient, sustainable and healthy cities, urban design and planning principles should be followed from a geographical point of view.

Climatic conditions play a decisive role in the realization of tourism activities. This study aims to determine the thermal comfort conditions of the Zigana Winter Tourism Center (ZWTC) for skiers (active skiers) and visitors (wanderers). The study used hourly measurement data from the meteorology station at ZWTC. Thermal comfort conditions were determined with WCI (Wind Chill Index) from simple indices and MPET (Modified Physiologically Equivalent Temperature) indices from complex indices. As a result of the study, cold, risky conditions for skiers from November to March in the period from the 10th day of January to the 10th day of February are effective, while other days can be expressed as comfortable. It has been determined that the hours between 10:00 and 16:00 during the day are suitable. There are cold risks throughout the entire period for visitors who do not do any activity. It is recommended to consider this study for tourism activities in ZWTC.

İklim koşulları turizm faaliyetlerinin kaliteli olmasında ve turizm destinasyonlarının seçiminde önemli bir faktördür. Son yıllarda turizm faaliyetlerinin çeşitliliği ve turist sayıları artış göstermiş ve yayla turizmi faaliyetleri popüler olmuştur. Yayla turizm faaliyetlerinin sürdürülebilir olması için fiziki coğrafya etmenlerinden iklim koşulları ve termal konfor durumları araştırılmalıdır. Termal konfor en genel ifadeyle insanların bulundukları ortamda kendilerini rahat, mutlu ve zinde hissetme durumu olarak tanımlanır. Bu çalışmada yayla turizmi faaliyetlerinin termal konfor koşullarının belirlenmesi Rize ilinin Çamlıhemşin ilçesindeki Palovit yaylası özelinde incelenmiştir. Çalışmada Palovit yaylasında kurulu olan 19058 nolu meteoroloji istasyonun saatlik ve günlük ölçümleri kullanılmıştır. Elde edilen veriler Rayman yazılımı aracılığıyla FES (Fiyolojik Eşdeğer Sıcaklık) indisine göre hesaplanmıştır. FES değerlerinin 10 günlük aralıklarla yıl içindeki dağılımı ve aylık olarak saatlik dağılımları hazırlanmıştır. Ayrıca iklim turizm bilgilendirme şemasının hazırlanması amacıyla tüm iklim elemanlarının yaşanma sıklığı ve ekstremleri hesaplanmıştır. Çalışma sonucunda Palovit yaylasında sıcak stresi, fırtına riski ve bunaltıcı koşulların yaşanma olasılığının olmadığı anlaşılmıştır. Fakat soğuk stresi, yağış riski ve kayma riski oluşturan karla kaplı günlerin yaşanma olasılığının bulunduğu tespit edilmiştir. İklimsel tüm olasılıklar incelendiğinde turizm açısından en ideal döneminin yaz mevsimi olduğu belirlenmiştir. Turizm faaliyetlerine katılan bireylerin, tur düzenleyicilerin ve yerel yönetimlerin bu koşulları dikkate alması gerekmektedir. Yayla turizmi faaliyetlerinin sağlıklı, kaliteli ve sürdürebilir olması için iklim koşulları ve termal konfor durumlarını araştıran daha çok araştırmaya ihtiyaç vardır.

Cities are highly vulnerable areas affected by climate change. For sustainable urbanization, it is of great importance to determine the thermal conditions in cities and to make predictions for the future. Therefore, in this study, the spatial distribution of the thermal comfort conditions in the city of Diyarbakır, located in the southeastern Turkey, during the hot period of the year is explained and predictions for the future are made. In the study, measurement data from meteorological stations and the data of the SSP-2 and SSP-5 scenarios were used. Thermal comfort conditions were determined according to the PET (physiological equivalent temperature) index using RayMan software. The ArcGIS 10.5 program was used for defining the spatial distribution of thermal comfort conditions. As a result of the study, it is seen that the areas with dense construction and a low amount of green area in the old urbanized area, which is the central business district (CBD), have uncomfortable conditions. It is predicted that uncomfortable areas will increase in the near and distant future and threaten human health. For climate-resilient, healthy, and comfortable cities that can adapt to adverse effects of climate change, urban design and planning should be carried out with a holistic perspective.

Cities have more adverse thermal comfort conditions than the rural and semi-rural areas around them. In this study, it is aimed to examine the spatial distribution of thermal comfort conditions in Diyarbakir, a historical city in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. Thermal comfort can be defined as the state of people feeling comfortable or happy in their environment or thermal environment. Uncomfortable conditions lead to social, economic and physical negativities, especially to human health. Thermal comfort conditions were calculated with the Physiological Equivalent Temperature index obtained from the RayMan model using hourly measurement data for the 2015 – 2021 (7 years) period of four meteorological stations in the field. In the study, while 'cold' and 'cool' stresses are experienced in the winter season in Diyarbakır, 'warm', 'hot' and 'very hot' stresses were determined in the 5-month hot period of the year (May-September). Evaluations revealed that densely built urban areas in the city center (approximately 15%) have more unfavourable thermal conditions than low-density urban areas (approximately 30%) and rural areas (approximately 20%) around them. It is a vital necessity to design and plan with a contemporary smart geographical perspective to reduce the negative thermal conditions of cities and for sustainable healthy cities.